My guess is simply that the auctions are much more attended now. Last week there had to be at least 60 people downtown. Also I am noting that there are alot more bidders willing to take alot less margin. That is, at least by my study, they are making bids on places where they may only clear 10% after a resale as opposed to 20% or more.

For instance today the property on Orange Blossom in Encinitas had an opening bid of 620k? WTF… not much margin on that…

So in a nutshell I am not convinced that the opening bids have changed that much. Just a guess though.